Vivian's Shaft Headframe, Great Condurrow Mine
Vivian's Shaft headframe, Great Condurrow Mine, Camborne, Cornwall
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1401848
- Date first listed:
- 13-Jul-2011
- List Entry Name:
- Vivian's Shaft Headframe, Great Condurrow Mine
- Statutory Address:
- Vivian's Shaft headframe, Great Condurrow Mine, Camborne, Cornwall
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Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1401848
- Date first listed:
- 13-Jul-2011
- List Entry Name:
- Vivian's Shaft Headframe, Great Condurrow Mine
- Location Description:
- Vivian's Shaft Headframe, Great Condurrow Mine, Camborne, Cornwall
- Statutory Address 1:
- Vivian's Shaft headframe, Great Condurrow Mine, Camborne, Cornwall
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- Vivian's Shaft headframe, Great Condurrow Mine, Camborne, Cornwall
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Cornwall (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Camborne
- National Grid Reference:
- SW6587939197
Summary
The headframe over Vivian's Shaft at Great Condurrow Mine.
Reasons for Designation
The headframe at Vivian's Shaft, Great Condurrow Mine is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Historic interest: it is the oldest surviving intact example of a headframe in Cornwall and the only surviving one in the United Kingdom which was built solely for training purposes and used by generations of mining students who have influenced mining activities throughout the world
Rarity: it is a rare and good example of the smaller type of headframe, once a common feature of the mining landscape
History
The headframe is situated within the western part of Great Condurrow Mine which between 1845 and 1876 was a major tin and copper producer employing over 380 people at its height. The headframe was erected over Vivian's Shaft, which was previously known as East Shaft, in 1937 by the staff and students of King Edward Mine. In recent years the headframe, associated buildings and underground workings provided a training facility for the Camborne School of Mines.
It is the only known surviving headframe in the United Kingdom which was specifically built for training purposes.
Details
The headframe over Vivian's Shaft at Great Condurrow Mine survives as a small steel girder structure which was designed by Head Wrightson & Co. Ltd. Of Thornaby-on-Tees in 1936, built by Holman Bros. of Camborne and erected by the staff and students of King Edward Mine in early 1937.
The headframe takes the form of a steel girder tower set directly over the winding shaft and is braced by a pair of extended legs called boomstays. The entire frame is braced and triangulated for strength and is set on elongated bearers which are bolted down to a levelled platform surrounding the shaft opening.
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 08-Jun-2026 at 08:02:14.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.